


stir the saints in their shallow graves

by fckingawful



Category: The Grisha Trilogy - Leigh Bardugo
Genre: darkling has the same motivations but he communicates with alina and she may be willing to help, if these dummies had just Talked, whole trilogy fix-it fic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-19
Updated: 2020-06-19
Packaged: 2021-03-03 23:07:23
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 872
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24803614
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fckingawful/pseuds/fckingawful
Summary: set during shadow and bone, the night of the ball where alina's powers were shown off for ravka.basically: shadow and bone with effective communication, darkling isn't a bad person he just doesn't have very many brain cells
Comments: 2
Kudos: 7





	stir the saints in their shallow graves

**Author's Note:**

> hello hello and welcome to "darkling does more than just make out with alina in some back room then leave". according to my friend and grisha rambling partner cecil i have some Hot Takes and just so happen to be uh 😳 darkling kinnie... anyways most of this is transcribed from me monologuing to myself at 5am right before going to bed so here we go! if you enjoy this Please leave a comment, it's short but it's somewhere along the lines of what i wish had happened. i have a full au for this in my head with like... yknow. alina mal darkling. darkling gets pegged. there's an unfortunate lack of that in this fandom and i for one would like to see a changed.  
> ANYWAYS ENOUGH OUT OF ME! ENJOY!

"Alina Starkov, listen to me and listen carefully. I have not been completely honest with you. My true name is Aleksander Morozova, and I am the Shadow Summoner that created the Fold all those years ago. It was... it was a power trip, a mistake, a despicable act the guilt and burden of which I would not wish upon my worst enemy. I am the Black Heretic, the Starless Saint, I am all of the stories about which you once asked, on the night that we met. I have lived and died more times than I care to count, I have seen monarchs rise and fall and wars spanning lifetimes. Yet, in all those lives, I have never met someone like you, Alina. Your power rivals mine, rivals even the best of my Grisha, and with the horns of my... my grandfather's stag as your amplifier, you may wear a crown of more brilliance than any peasant who's ever dared to claim themselves royal."

"What-"

"I'm truly sorry, Alina, I know this must be a lot to process, but you deserve the whole truth, if you want it."

After a moment’s silence, Alina once more met the Darkling’s chilling gaze, and nodded.

"Thank you. I'll be brief: the kingdom of Ravka is rotting from the inside out. Its core is unstable, ruled by selfish, disgusting excuses for royalty. The Queen is a vain, conceited narcissist, and the King, if you'll excuse my being blunt, a predator protected by the frail metal spikes that rest upon his head. Like I told you once before, the King is a child, accustomed to getting what he wants, when he wants it; even if what he wants is beneath the skirt of a palace servant."

"Genya..."

"Exactly. I've offered her a place in the Corporalki - she accepted without a moment's hesitation. I was a fool for failing to hide her Tailoring abilities from the Queen in the first place. hers is another loss that will never leave my heart. For all my years, Alina, I believe I am still human, and it's this tie to humanity that has led me to my only choice. The world is corrupt, biased against those who practice the Small Science, and for what? Because of something decided not by us, but by the cosmos? By the so-called Saints? They build pyres upon which we take our last, smoke-filled breaths. They cross borders to hunt us, they rip us from our homes as children and think that they own us, and they then dare to call our abilities blessings. This world is too far gone. I’d propose a form of mending, but a society that was never broken cannot be fixed. The world was built like this, walls high around us, giving us nothing and demanding we fight our way out. Something needs to change, but over the past millennia I've come to realize that it won't. Not without an impetus, a driving force to cause a shockwave large enough to stir the Saints in their shallow graves. Ravka will have a new king, Alina, and if you're willing, a new queen as well."

He sighed, a shaky breath escaping his pale lips. "I’m sorry. This is an issue for which my soul aches. If you’ll continue to bear with me, i promise there’s just a bit more."

Alina silently signaled her agreement once more.

"The war must end. The monarchy must fall. When we first met, I thought to use your skills as Sun Summoner to breach the Unsea and hold our powers high above the world to gain control, but as I’ve come to know you, I understand not only that you would never willingly see yourself complicit in the undue harm of others, but that those living under the weight of a false crown are innocent. No, the blame falls on the same head that the crown will soon slip off of, the King and his predecessors are the ones responsible for the darkness in their hearts. My goals rest only with those who rush headfirst into wars in which they have no foothold and hold their subjects hostage when they cannot win with threats alone. But you and I, we have what the King and his First Army do not. We have the ability to bend the light and the darkness to our wills. We can shine a brilliant light on the crimes of the one we call His Majesty, and when he is consumed by the darkness he has chosen, we will be hailed as Saints.

"Now you know everything. I understand if you can no longer ally yourself with me. I've done horrible things, and I plan to do more for the sake of the world. Make me your villain if you must. I am already the monster in the stories, the evil that not only lurks in the shadows but bends them to his will. However you feel, however you choose to continue on, is your right, one I cannot give or take from your hands. But whatever your decision, it can't wait long. The world is about change, Alina. If you’re willing to join me, we start with Ravka, and we start tonight."


End file.
